Lately, it seems as though the school has lost sight of a key value  in our mission statement: unity.

One of the unique things about the school is that it is split across two campuses, separated by six miles and winding canyon roads that connect the neighborhoods of Studio City and Bel Air. Two campuses allow for more resources, more opportunities and more space. It is time that the school start using the two-campus system to its advantage.

Some rising tenth graders dread the transition to the Upper School. Many upper school students say they prefer the middle school campus, whereas others appreciate the freedom of the Upper School. Regardless of preference, there is a clear divide between the campus culture and daily life between the two locations,  with the separate campuses feeling almost like different schools. There are certain attributes of the Upper School that the Middle School lacks, and vice versa. Middle school students should not have to wait to experience the benefits of the Upper School, including advanced and extensive course offerings and older peers to look up to.

After coming to the Upper School, these students will lose out on the highlights of the Middle School, including better performing arts and music facilities.

More intermixing of students between the two campuses will allow students access to all the resources that the school offers, as opposed to merely half. Furthermore, cross-campus interaction will strengthen the school community, allowing younger students to learn from older, more experienced peers.

The Middle School has certain resources  that the Upper School lacks, the first of which is the Saperstein Theatre at the Middle School. The benefits of having upper school students perform on the middle school stage are twofold. With two levels of seating, the middle school theatre is significantly larger than that of the Upper School. Architecturally, it is more modern and objectively grander. Seasoned student performers should be able to perform on such a stage. Secondly, middle school students should get the opportunity to see experienced student performers from older grades, as artists gain inspiration from watching more experienced artists preform. 

Another example of a resource exclusively available at the Middle School is its music technology and production room, something the Upper School lacks. The room contains synthesizers attached to computers with music production software and high-tech recording equipment. In the room,  Music Technology teacher Mr. Goddu teaches classes Music Technology I and II, and upper school students should have access to the music production software in these classes. Indeed, they should not forget that the Middle School is still their school; they should be encouraged to travel down to the Middle School to take advantage of all of the school’s resources.

On the other hand, the Upper School has visual arts classes in glass blowing and sewing, and students interested in these areas should be able to begin prior to 10th grade, so that they can have more time to perfect their craft. According to Kumon, people are naturally curious and absorb information quickly in their earlier years, and should thus develop skills early. Students should not have to wait until half of their time at the school is over before beginning a class simply because it isn’t offered at their campus. Instead, these activities should be offered as after-school classes as well so that Middle School students can take the shuttle to the Upper School and begin learning these crafts before their sophomore year.

One successful example of cross-campus facilitation is the school diving team. Practices take place on the Middle School for fall and winter training, as the Middle School campus has two diving boards, a hot bath and a dry-land training station. The Upper Campus has only one board, and it is only installed for a few months each year. Upper School divers take the intercampus shuttle or drive to the Middle School for practice, where they train in conjunction with Middle School divers. Middle School students on the team learn about Upper School life from their older teammates, and Upper School students are able to access diving facilities lacking at the Upper School.

Another resource that the school can take advantage of is experience and mentorship. Aside from sophomore orientation, Middle School students have few chances to experience Upper School life and get to know upperclassmen. This is especially true for new ninth graders, who didn’t have the chance to meet older students in earlier years. However, older students have more experience with the school and can give younger students valuable advice about classes and academics, as well as social concerns. In order to create such an environment, the school should create extracurriculars that engage both campuses and a mentorship program where students in younger grades are paired up with students in older grades. These programs can build valuable connections and are popular in elementary school environments, but can be just as successful in a high school setting. By allowing older students to interact with younger students, both can benefit from mutual interaction, contributing to a stronger school community as well as students’ emotional wellbeing.

Luckily, the lack of cross-campus interconnectivity is an easy problem to solve. By having more all-school events such as Homecoming and Convocation, students from the two campuses can get to know each other. By inviting Upper School students to the Middle School and vice versa, the students can mingle with peers in other age groups and take advantage of the resources and classes unique to each campus. As of now, the school is divided into two separate pieces. It is time that we look to our mission statement and become “united.”